Galaxy Note 8 Will Reportedly Use the Force (Touch)

We won't get to officially see Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 until its Aug. 23 debut. But we may have just learned about one of the key features Samsung is planning — a pressure-sensitive display for the next generation of its supersized smartphone.

A leaked render of the Galaxy Note 8 (Credit: Evan Blass/VentureBeatNews reports out of South Korea contend that the display on the Note 8 will gain the same force touch feature Samsung added to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ to make the new phone's home button a virtual one rather than a physical one. A long press on the Note 8’s home button will reveal menu shortcuts.

The original report from ET News and subsequently picked up by The Investor gives no indication that Samsung will equip the entire display with pressure sensitivity, which would make the Note 8 more like the iPhone with its 3DTouch feature. The force touch in the Galaxy S8 is designated for the home button area only. But it’s possible that Samsung would expand the pressure-sensitive area to encompass the whole of the Note 8’s rumored 6.3-inch display.

A force touch home button isn’t the only S8 feature reportedly planned for the Note 8. Samsung is expected to move the fingerprint sensor to the back of the device, right next to the phone’s new dual lens camera. (The S8 does not have a dual lens camera, though next year's Galaxy S9 may sport one when it arrives next spring.)